May Snow

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Snow in May!!!
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... and here's the culprit!

It's difficult to capture a good picture of this fluff in flight, but it literally fills the air on even a slightly windy day. I'm not exaggerating. Driving in your car, you instinctively want to turn on your windshield wipers. And if you open your windows or doors for more than a moment, it's everywhere inside your car or house. It makes me want to sneeze just looking at the photo!

Good Morning

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I had raisin bran this morning! It might not sound exciting to you, but I've been having a craving for it. I went grocery shopping at one of the largest grocery stores we have here hoping I could find it. The closest I found was bran flakes with chocolate bits, hmm. So, I bought plain bran flakes and put raisins in myself and although it wasn't officially Post Raisin Bran, my craving was satisfied! Now, how do I make Lucky Charms cereal....

Isola dei Famosi

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Isola dei Famosi, Celebrity Island, is a reality show inspired from the format "Celebrity Survivors" which I guess you could call a spin-off of the original "Survivor" show. Out of curiosity I did watch almost the entire 2003 season. At the start of the challenge, the contestants were dropped offshore and they swam to the beach where their bags have already been dropped. The first thing the women did when they reached their bags, was to pull out their hairbrushes and begin primping. Do they do that on Survivor?

Stumbling Around

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I love just driving around and stumbling upon places like this! This is Il Porto in Umbria. I chose to take an unpaved, pot-holed backroad, not really knowing where I would end up, and arrived at this beautiful backside view. Actually, Il Porto is better viewed from the backside I discovered.

Spaghetti alla Fornaia (Baker's Spaghetti)

.This is an easy recipe that you often see on the menu at the restaurants here in Umbria. I gathered the walnuts on our walk, but you can purchase them any time of year here in the larger supermarkets. The packaged walnuts I've seen here are from California. Go figure.

1-1/2 cups walnuts
3 garlic cloves
1/2 extra virgin olive oil
3 ounces fine dry bread crumbs
1 pount spaghetti
1 tablespoon fresh flat leaf parsley
salt

Chop the nuts and garlic finely with a knife.
In a skillet over low heat, warm half of the olive oil. Add the nuts, garlic and bread crumbs and fry until the garlic is just golden, about five minutes. Season to taste with salt.
Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring at least six quarts salted water to a boil. Add the spaghetti and cook until al dente, about seven minutes. Drain and tip into a warm serving bowl.
Add the remaining 1/4 cup olive oil and the nut sauce to the spaghetti and toss well.
Sprinkle with the parsley and serve immediately.

Serves 6
Lorenza de' Medici's Tuscany, The Beautiful Cookbook

Note: I like lots of sauce on my pasta, so I used less pasta.

Vantage Point

.Living in a hill town has its advantages, or should I say it has its vantage points? This is the southern view from my back balcony. I don't think I could ever be happy living in the low lands. Never say never, but probably never...

Snow Day

.It can get cold living in a hill town! Since I moved to Monteleone in November, it has snowed and hailed several times. A few days before Easter, it snowed ALL DAY LONG! It was soooo cold, my hands froze going out for just a few minutes to the wood pile to retrieve logs for the fire. I stayed in my pajamas all day long (shhh!) and enjoyed the wood burning stove while outside life was at a standstill. A friend commented that she thought this picture was in black and white... it's not.